Last week I wrote about Phil Nealy who, as a result of a diving accident when he was 23, became a quadriplegic with only limited use of his arms, a quadriplegic who, in his words, "skipped learned helplessness."

"I never stopped," he told me, "I changed directions that's all."

Last week I wrote about Phil's life during the first eight years after his accident (See Challenges).

It was at that point that he decided to move west in search of a better climate. His plan was to move to the Okanogan, but as he drove west, late at night, he missed the turn and ended up in Vancouver.

Always an avid skier, Phil kept on driving when he saw the sign for Whistler. But then as he approached Squamish, the sun was shinning so he stopped to look around, stayed for a week enjoying the sunshine, and decided to settle in. Of course that's when the rain started, and it didn't stop for 66 days!

After a year of fruitless job-hunting in Squamish, Phil decided to move to Nanaimo and within a few months found a job with the BC Paraplegic Association, a job that lasted for a year until it was eliminated due to funding cuts.

That's when the employment drought began in earnest.

For the next two years, try as he did, he couldn't find a job; he came second or third a number of times, but never came out the winner. He sent out dozens of resumes, worked with a number of support organizations, but had no luck.

Finally Wendy at LifeWorks! referred him to Vancouver Island Vocational and Rehabilitation Services, which is funded by the Ministry of Human Resources. There he met Bud Roworth -- They clicked ... and things began to happen.

Within a few weeks, Roworth set up Phil's first job practicum. That one didn't work out but shortly after that, he arranged a second practicum at the Assessment and Referral Centre and Phil's luck began to change.

At the ARC he volunteered in the Labour Market Research Centre helping people develop resumes and job-hunting skills. From there he applied on a job at LifeWorks! a job he really wanted; however, a client came to him at the ARC, someone he felt was better equipped for the LifeWorks! opportunity, so he decided that morally he had to arrange an interview for him. Guess who got the job.

Soon after that LifeWorks! offered Phil part time employment, and from there he was hired by Sprott-Shaw Community College where his job is to find work experience opportunities, and then jobs, for graduates of the Training For Jobs program, a course designed to help people who have been unable to find work for long periods of time, some for more than a decade. Vida Turok teaches the program.

By now I'm sure you won't be surprised when I tell you that Phil has been successful, very successful.

As of yesterday one hundred percent of the last three classes, over 40 students, are working.

"It almost justifies my being in a chair," Phil muses, "because I have been able to touch so many people in a positive way, and I know, without the chair, I may not have been able to reach them."

Finally would you be surprised to hear that Phil started skiing again, Sit Skiing, and although for the first few weeks he couldn't get more than twenty feet without pulling a "nose plant", he now skies pretty much everything that Mount Washington and Whistler have to offer.

So, have you got a goal you haven't yet reached? What's holding you back?

To nominate a Neighbourhood Hero or to read old columns, go to www.nhero.org.